Broken Heroes
by BlackbAngeL
Summary: Chapter 5 is up Finally! Post NFA, Angel and Buffy aren't what they used to be. Life tends to do that sometimes... BA, WIP
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer : Still not mine... I tried, but Joss just doesn't want to give them to me! Go figure...

Author : BlackbAngeL

Summary : Post NFA, and that's all I'm gonna say... just read!

A/N : I know I was supposed to make it dark, but finally, I had a better idea. I hope you'll like it!!

Rating : Same as the show

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Angel was speeding on the highway, as fast as his rented car would allow him. His feet never leaving the accelerator, he kept glancing at his watch, and at the sky… He only had a few hours left, and he hoped he would get to the airport in time. He couldn't afford to waste a whole day hiding from the sun in some filthy gas station's restrooms. He had to make it there before dawn, and get on the first plane he would find that headed for Italy, even if he had to spend the ten-hour flight in the baggage hold. Because otherwise, he would be too late. She would be lost.

It had all happened incredibly fast. But also, oddly enough, too slow… One minute he was sitting in a demon bar, drinking and eavesdropping, hoping to find something evil to kill… and the next, he was on a plane, praying whatever God or Power that Be that he had not wasted his chance. That he had not wasted too much time.

Because in reality, these few minutes had been days.

He remembered perfectly how it had all started.

ooooooooooooooooo

_Philadelphia, September 7th, 2004_

He was sitting at the bar, quietly drinking his Whiskey, listening to the conversations around him. He had noticed a slight increase of the demon activity for the last few days, but he had yet to figure out what exactly was happening. So, here he was, for the third day in a row. The place was dark, and grim… not to mention the horrible smell that assaulted his sensible nostrils every time he set a foot in the main room. But he didn't really have a choice. _The Nest_ was the place you had to go to in Philadelphia if you wanted to hear something from the demon grapevine. Everything happened there… and the bartender was very well informed. And also very willing to share his knowledge if you knew the right way to 'convince' him; or if your wallet was full enough.

Besides, it wasn't like he had anything better to do.

He had left L.A a few months before. A few days after the battle against the Black Thorn.

Every single one of his friends was dead. Or, in Lorne's case, had left.

But he had survived. Something he hadn't really thought was possible… And something he had had a hard time to accept.

Gunn, as Illyria had foreseen, had only lasted a few minutes. He had fought until the end, until his last breath, taking down as many demons as possible with him. They hadn't even found his body in the mess afterwards.

Spike, he, and Illyria had been the only ones left at this point. They had fought for hours on end, punching, kicking, slicing, dusting, almost all at once, in a disgusting and lethal dance they thought would never stop. The more they killed, the more were coming. But neither of them had complained. Not even once… They were there for a purpose, to do what was right, to fight the good fight. To give their lives.

But out of the three of them, only Illyria had given hers. At one point during the battle, she had stopped moving, and taken an instant to stare at the demons around her. She had turned around, looking at both men in the eyes, and they had known. They had known what she was going to do, even if they had never thought it was possible. And they hadn't had the time to stop her. In a matter of seconds, she had thrown them over the roof of the nearest building, and she had started to glow… a light so bright that they had had to cover their eyes.

When they opened them again, Illyria was nowhere in sight… and half the demons were gone.

Angel and Spike hadn't taken time at that moment to ponder what had happened. They had jumped back into the fight, and annihilated the rest of the demons.

A few minutes before dawn, they'd found themselves alone in the alley.

The following days had been… strange, to say the least. Both men hadn't thought they would make it out of this. But they had. What were they going to do now? Angel didn't have anything left, only the clothes on his back… and his three friends' deaths to deal with. Add to this all the things he had done in the last few months…

They had gone to pick up Wesley's body, and buried him outside the Hyperion. They would call his family later… or maybe not. Some things were better left unsaid, and his parents would figure out on their own. They had looked for Gunn for a whole night, but they had never found him. Too many bodies, most of them burnt by Illyria's sacrifice… So, they just buried some of his personal effects in a box next to Wesley's grave, and left it at that.

The army had quickly taken over the city, trying to hold the population, and to find a 'rational' explanation to what had happened. The Initiative obviously had something to do with it. Spike hadn't stayed long… He had left after a few days, saying that he had to find his own way, his own purpose; Angel hadn't asked questions.

He had spent some days on his own, haunting Spike's apartment rather than living, wondering why he was still alive when his friends, his family, were all gone. Forever. It was one thing to tell them to go on a suicide mission with him, to fight by his side at the price of their lives… but it was another to survive them. One more proof of what his company was worth… Doyle, Cordelia, Fred, Wesley, Gunn… Be friends with Angel, and you'll meet death long before your time. It was one of the reasons why he'd sent Nina away. He was dangerous, if not always personally, being with him was dangerous. He lived a violent and painful life… There was no need in dragging more innocent people in the darkness with him. This was his fate, not theirs. He had realized, when he'd given her the plane tickets, the full implication of what he was doing… The meaning of his acts. It wasn't so much the fact that he was leaving Nina behind that had upset him… it was the fact that having to do this had reminded him that he would always have to avoid every chance of comfort, of warmth, that he could ever get… He couldn't afford to let anybody in, even if it was only to ease the cold and the loneliness in his heart. The realization that no matter what, he would spend his long life alone had been hard to process.

But in the end, that was what he was. What he always would be. Alone.

And now, here he was, in this bar, more than three months later. He had left L.A without looking back, only stopping to make sure his son had made it home safely. He had watched him laughing with his friends, having fun, living… Just this, had made the fight worthwhile. He hadn't tried to talk to him. Connor was better off believing he was dead… he had turned around and walked away, never seeing his son cast a long glance in his direction with a sad smile on his face before going back to talking to the girl next to him.

He had hidden for a few weeks, trying to disappear, not wanting to draw attention on him… some demons sent by the Senior Partners were still on his tail. As much as he wished that he had died with the rest of them in that alley, he knew that trying to get himself killed wasn't the solution. He'd learned that the hard way, on a snowy Christmas morning a lifetime ago. Or two.

And he had succeeded. They hadn't found him, at least not so far, in Philadelphia.

He was drinking at least his third glass that evening. He didn't know why he even bothered to come here every night… It would have been easier to walk the streets and seek for answers with his fists, instead of his sole ears. But even if he always tried to convince himself not to go, he kept coming back. Maybe it was because it was so… alive. Which was strange, for a demon bar, but still. It was always full, and noisy… Angel missed the company of others. No matter how much he tried not to, he missed the sense of belonging that his family had brought him. But he had resolved not to let anybody come this close, ever again. Too much danger, too much pain. It would be harder to do this by himself, but he would deal. After all, he'd spent a whole century alone, he could probably handle loneliness for another hundred years or so… couldn't he?

He was listening to the conversations around him, trying to pick out any useful information that would tell him why the demonic activity had increased so fast. So far, he didn't have a single clue. So, he sat there, waiting. He kept drinking, knowing that even a dozens of glasses wouldn't get him drunk. Thank God for vampire's constitution… or, maybe not. Sometimes, he really wished that he could drink his sorrow away.

He'd been there for at least three hours when he decided that he wouldn't learn anything that night. He might as well hit the streets, and try to coax an unlucky vampire or demon into talking. He had just left a bill on the bar and was about to leave when he heard a word that made him stop dead in his tracks.

Slayer.

So, that was the reason for all the demons getting over enthusiastic these days? They were killing now, doing as much damage as possible, before the arrival of a slayer. They knew they would have to lay low after that, if they wanted to keep walking.

It was interesting news… He didn't think he would risk trying to meet a slayer. He didn't really fancy the idea of ending up at the pointy end of a stake. But he would watch over her from afar during the first days, making sure she settled in and could handle the town.

Well, it also meant that he would have to leave after that, but after all, he wasn't planning on staying here forever.

The three demons and vampire he could hear were sitting at a table, in the far corner of the room. He didn't know what species they were, but it didn't really matter.

He walked closer to them and discreetly leaned in, seemingly waiting at the restroom door, and finally could get the whole conversation. But the more he heard, the less he liked what was said.

"That's the best solution, if you ask me. How many are there now? Four, five hundred? That's more than anybody could ever handle. And if we kill them one by one, others will take their place" the yellow one said.

"But what I don't understand is how killing one is going to weaken them…"

"Well, you know, the best way to kill an enemy is to behead it. You cut the head, you win. And that girl, that Slayer… She's the head. Get rid of her, and it's gonna take them months to get their bearings…" the one with the long horns replied.

"Do you know who is gonna do it? Because, I don't want to seem pessimistic, but she's pretty strong… I heard that she can't be killed. She always comes back."

Angel felt a wave of cold coursing through his body. There wasn't any slayer coming to town… But there was a slayer in grave danger. And not any slayer, if he understood correctly. The Slayer.

"Just a myth, pal. Slayers are human, not more. She just got lucky once or twice. Don't tell me you believe in those stories…"

The one who had talked bowed his head in embarrassment. "I don't know… more than eight years… it's not that common."

"Maybe. But the guys in the Order know what they're doing."

"The Order? Order of what?" The guy was obviously a fledgling. The only vampire of the group.

"The Order. Period. But they're not alone in this. The rumor is spreading fast… it's gonna be quite important, and they just have to find her alone. After her death, they're gonna kill the other one… and it's gonna be easy, because the girl's gonna want to avenge her friend. They won't even have to look for her, she's gonna come by herself. And after her, the watchers." He paused. "Once it's started, it's gonna take only a few weeks and all the new slayers are gonna be by themselves."

"What about the Witch? She's protecting them" a fourth one asked.

"Well, that's why they have to do it now. The Wicca is not on this plane… When she comes back, she's gonna find her friends all dead…" he said with a twisted smile.

"You sure the Slayer isn't aware of what's going on?"

"Positive. My cousin told me he saw her in Italy, partying. She's on holiday."

"Italy? One of my friends saw her in Africa last week…" the vampire said.

"Friend? You have friends?" the yellow demon said with a laugh.

"Well, you know what I mean."

They all laughed quietly, and the fourth demon lifted his glass. "My friends, let's drink to the end of Buffy, the vampire slayer. May she stay dead, buried, and rot six feet under so that we could go and dance on her grave." And they all drank together. "And what kind of a name is that, anyway?"

Angel felt like something had hit him on the head. Hard. He didn't spare them a second glance, and hurried out of the bar.

Once outside, he took a few much needed gulps of fresh air. And not only to get rid of the stench that always seemed to follow him every time he left _The Nest_…

He'd thought he would be over this by now. But all it had taken was one mention of her name.

One mention of her name in a conversation that also contained the words "Order" and "dance on her grave".

He realized after a few seconds that he had clenched his fists so hard during the conversation that he had drawn blood. The temptation to kill the bastards and make them talk, of course not in that order, had been overwhelming. But he couldn't afford to start a fight. He was under cover here.

He walked away from the bar, trying to calm down and to relax. Buffy could handle herself. He wasn't going to barge in on her once again only to have his nose rubbed in the fact that she could move on… and he could not. She was a grown woman, and a more than capable slayer. She had her friends, her team, to back her up, there was no need for him to make a fool of himself by just coming to save her like the White Knight that he wasn't, and never would be. He had to learn to let her go, and to forget her. It was better for the both of them.

He spent the next two days pacing around the phone. He couldn't shake away the feeling that something was going to be wrong, and that he needed to help. He'd woken up with a start twice since he'd overheard the conversation in the bar, still shaking from the shock of his nightmares.

Now that he'd had time to think about it, he regretted that he hadn't waited for the demons to come out so that he could have made them talk. But it was too late now.

He didn't want to get involved in this. It was the last thing he needed. Besides, what exactly could he do? Call Giles? The former watcher would hang up on him in the second. He didn't know how to reach Faith, or Willow, and he'd thrown away Buffy's personal number after his last visit to Italy.

Well, that last excuse didn't really count. He knew the number by heart, even if he had never used it.

What if she didn't see it coming? What if she got herself killed because of him? Because he knew, and didn't tell her? And she wasn't the only one in danger. They'd talked about killing Faith too, and the watchers. If all the new slayers were to be left by themselves, it would lead to chaos. The thoughts kept torturing him again and again… until it became so loud in his head that he couldn't stand it anymore.

He was walking in the street when he finally decided to call. It was only to warn her, he kept telling himself. To make sure that she was okay, and then, he would go back to his life.

He didn't have a cell phone anymore, so he stopped at the first public phone he could find.

He tried to reach Giles at first. Maybe he could talk some sense into the man, and get him to listen to him. If Buffy's interest was at stake, he knew he would listen. But he waited for a few minutes, and nobody picked up.

He hung up with a sigh, and stared at the phone for a few seconds, finally picking it up again.

He dialed Buffy's number, and waited… only to be greeted by a feminine Italian voice telling him the number he tried to reach didn't exist. This was more than he could stand.

"Dammit!!" he shouted, slamming the phone into its cradle.

He buried his face in his hands, sighing again, his elbows resting on the wall front of him.

"I was wondering when you would work up the nerve to call her" a familiar voice said behind him.

If it was actually alive, Angel's heart would have skipped a beat. Without even looking, he knew who the person was. He could picture him in all his fashion-challenged glory.

He dropped his hands on either side of his body, and turned around to glare at the demon.

"Whistler" he said, rolling his eyes, his annoyance more than obvious.

"In the flesh, kid. Long time no see!" the newcomer said with a small smile.

"What do you want? I don't have time for this."

"Gee, and here I thought we could catch up around a beer, or something… But no, right into business, as always" Whistler said with a sigh. "I was sent here. You've kinda got… sidetracked. I'm here to show you the path, once more."

"What do you mean? I took down the Black Thorn, and averted the apocalypse, Wolfram and Hart is history… What else could I possibly do?" Angel asked with anger. "I'm tired of working for the Powers. Tired of all the sacrifices…"

"You didn't think it would stop there, did you?" Whistler asked "There's still evil out there, waiting to be fought. You can't just give up like that, and go back to your 'King of Pain' years. I thought you had learned, over the years, to let people in, and fight." he said, walking closer to Angel.

"Yeah, I let others in. And look what it brought them. They all died, because of me."

"Whoa whoa, stop right there. Because of you? They didn't die because of you. They chose to fight. They chose to give their lives to the cause… Those people were heroes. Don't belittle their sacrifice by taking all the responsibility."

"I'm just stating a fact, Whistler. If they hadn't known me, they'd probably be alive now… I'm the one who took the bad decisions."

The balance demon let out a dramatic sigh. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that." He paused, then added "But there are more important things to talk about right now, than your little guilt crisis."

"And that would be?" Angel asked.

"Your precious little Slayer, who else?" Whistler replied. "She's in serious trouble, man."

"She's not my Slayer."

Whistler stared at him, his expression half of annoyance and half of disbelief.

"You really are a piece of work, aren't you?"

Angel didn't answer, and stared at him. Whistler sighed again, and rested his shoulder on the wall next to the vampire, crossing his arms. They stood in silence for a few seconds, until Angel added "She doesn't need me. She can handle herself. Besides, she's moved on" he hadn't meant to sound like a jealous moron, but he had, to his dismay. Where had that come from?

The demon held back a laugh, but couldn't hide his smirk. "Maybe. Maybe not. But even if she did, that hardly justifies letting her suffer a horrible death, don't you think?"

"Yeah, well, I would have helped her, but the number I have doesn't exist" Angel said angrily.

"And you're just gonna leave it at that? No running to her, with flowers and a box of chocolate, no kiss under the moonlight, no tears? Kill a few demons, sweep her of her feet… I was really looking forward to this. You spoil my fun." Whistler said, looking falsely disappointed.

"Sorry, but that's not on the menu."

The balance demon let out another exasperated sigh. "She's in danger. Those demons? They're not joking; they know what they're doing. And she's not ready to face them."

"What do you mean, she's not ready?"

"Well, if you want to know, you're gonna have to go and see for yourself. But we can't lose her now. I don't care how you do it, but she has to survive. She's important."

"Is it The Immortal? Did he hurt her? And what do you mean by 'important'? When will you all finally cut her a break?"

"Forget The Immortal for a second, will you?" Whistler said desperately. "If you want to save her, you're gonna have to find her, talk to her, and then finally, maybe they're gonna leave me alone for a while up there because I really need a vacation."

"You didn't answer my second question."

Whistler just glared at him. "I know."

Angel held his gaze, before finally moving and starting to walk away. "I'll go."

"Oh, thank God!! I was starting to wonder…" Whistler cried, obviously relieved. "She's…"

"I know where she is…" Angel cut him off. And he left, not looking back.

The demon watched him go, speechless. That guy was impossible… He thought he knew?

"Well, you're in for a surprise…" he said under his breath. And then he walked in the opposite direction. "I'm too old for that job…"

oooooooooooooooooo

_Back to the present, September 10th, 2004_

That was how he had found himself into this mess. What was he going to tell her?

He made it in time to the airport, left the car on the parking lot, and made his way to the baggage hold of a plane that left for Rome. He didn't know how he would manage to get out of it once in Italy, but he would find a way.

He spent the ten hours of the flight wondering what would happen, how she would react, what she would say… He didn't even know how he would react. He had tried so hard to put her behind him, to leave the past to what it was. And he had managed to do it, he was over her. Wasn't he? He hadn't even thought about her in the past few months. Not a dream, not a single minute of brooding… He had had too much on his mind anyway. Too much to deal with. He couldn't have her, he knew it, so there was no need to dwell on what might be, or what might have been…

But now that he knew for sure that he was going to see her, it was a whole other story.

He would make it quick, he decided. He would help her, and then go, before he could open any old wound, or say things he would regret.

Thankfully, it was raining outside when they reached Italy. The sky was so dark that he could go out of the plane without too much trouble, if he ran fast enough. He waited for the sun to set, and as soon as he could he took a taxi to get to Buffy's apartment.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

So, what do you think?


	2. Chapter 2

**Part two – Broken Heroes**

_Rome, September 10th, 2004_

It took them half an hour to come from the airport to the center of the city. The Taxi driver, too happy to have a '_turista_' in his car, had made it a point to show Angel all the beauty of his country… and had taken countless detours, telling stories in a broken English about roman ruins that Angel hadn't really listened to. He already knew them anyway. Besides, he was so lost in his own thoughts that he wouldn't have heard it if the man had insulted him.

Only when he found himself alone in the street, after having finally managed to get out of the car, did he realize what he was doing. And no matter how hard he tried, he still couldn't understand what mysterious force had pushed him to take the damn plane. Whistler was a dead man, he decided.

But now that he was here, he might as well make himself useful. He looked around, glancing at the window of Buffy's apartment. The curtains were shut, and there wasn't any light inside… It made sense after all. A young woman rarely stayed alone at home on a warm Friday evening. He started to walk down the street, not wanting to spend the night in the hall in front of her door waiting for her.

The streets were full of people, laughing, talking, flirting… Italy was a beautiful country, so warm, so alive. He remembered the last time he was here… Or, actually, the time before that… Painting the town red with Spike, Darla and Dru… So much had changed since then. But in the meantime, it was still the same. Small paved streets, little houses, flowers hanging from balconies everywhere. Rome smelled of joy, and life. He understood why Buffy had chosen to live here. You could easily forget the true horrors of the world in a city like this. Even if said horrors were never far away…

He had walked for what seemed like hours, observing his surroundings, looking for a hotel where he could spend the night or absently eyeing every pretty blonde head he came across, when he finally caught that particular vibe. An unmistakable sense of danger started to crawl into his head, his demon instinctively protesting at the closeness of its natural predator…

There was no doubt possible; a slayer was somewhere in the crowd.

He roused on his tiptoes to see above the group of people surrounding him, shooting frantic glances around… She had to be here. There was no mistake possible. He hadn't really expected to find her so fast, but now that he had, if wasn't going to waste a chance to follow her. Which he hoped she wouldn't notice… it hadn't gone down well the last time he'd done this. After a few seconds, he finally found her. She was at the other end of the street, her back turned to him. From where he was standing, he could only see her long blonde hair, on top of a little but strong body… he could feel the power radiating from her in waves.

He walked closer, careful not to be seen… He hoped she wouldn't sense he was here. She would have, a long time ago, but now he wasn't so sure. Too much time had passed, too much things had happened that had drawn them apart. Now, she would probably not make a difference between him and the other vampires around.

He stayed a safe distance away for a few minutes, doing what he did best: lurking. She was thinner than the last time he'd seen her, if it was possible… she even looked smaller. Maybe she was sick, or tired… Was that what Whistler had mentioned? And, most importantly, something in her scent was… wrong. Like she was tainted, or something. Possessed, maybe? He couldn't put his finger on it… He hadn't noticed it the last time. There were too much people in the crowded club, he couldn't have picked her scent even if he'd tried.

Something was definitely weird, and it worried him… He came closer, still hidden in the shadow, watching her carefully, looking for wounds on her body, or blood… But apart from her scent, she looked perfectly healthy. He came to a halt when she finally stopped in front of a shop; leaning against a wall a few feet away from her, he watched as she turned around to look at the window…

And time suddenly stopped.

The girl was a slayer, of this there was no doubt. She was petite, blonde, and undeniably pretty.

But she was definitely not Buffy.

She entered the shop, and he stood still for a few minutes, unable to move, gawking at the spot she was standing on a moment before. How was it even possible? He could have sworn that it was her. Same way to move, to walk, same silky hair, same form… And her scent…

Well, that at least explained the strange feeling he'd got all the time he'd followed her. There was magic involved; now that he was aware of the truth, he could feel it in the air. Her scent wasn't wrong, it was just… altered. Any demon who didn't really know her wouldn't even have caught it.

He finally came back to his senses, and started to walk in the opposite direction. Now was not the moment to face a slayer for answers. He had to lay low… This had probably been orchestrated by the council, or by Buffy herself, so there was no need to alert the whole demon population. And if it was a demon, there was no need to make himself known too early.

But it didn't erase his worry. If the girl he'd followed wasn't Buffy, then one question automatically came to his mind… Where was she? Was she still in Rome? Had she even been here in the first place? She had the Order after her… And he couldn't warn her if he didn't know where she was. He headed for her apartment, hoping that she would be there. Or that Dawn, or even Andrew would be there, no matter how irritating the nerd was… It took him only a few minutes to reach his destination.

The closer he came to her home, the angrier he got. There was no trace of Buffy's scent. Only the doppelganger's one. It reeked of magic; now that he knew, now that he'd seen her face, he felt like somebody had suddenly lifted the blindfold he hadn't known he was wearing. Buffy had never been here… or at least, not in the past few days, or even weeks.

He knocked on her door, hard. He needed to know… The feeling of urgency was driving him insane now, coupled with an irrational fear. If he wasn't a vampire, his heart would be beating so fast that he would hear his blood pumping in his ears, and feel cold sweat on his forehead. The few seconds he waited felt like hours.

The door finally opened, revealing an obviously very tired and still half-asleep Andrew.

"Do you have any idea of what time..." he started to mumble.

He never finished his sentence. Before he knew it, Angel was in the apartment and had him pinned against a wall, his large hand circling his throat.

"Where is she?" he asked angrily.

"A… Ang..el?" he replied, trying in vain to ease the vampire's grip on his neck.

"I said, where is she?" Angel repeated, shifting in game face. He had lost the control he used to have over his emotions in the past few months.

Seeing that Andrew wouldn't be able to utter a coherent sound if he didn't loosen his hold, he let him go, watching as the boy fell on the floor. He started to pace around the room, trying to regain some sort of calm. When he finally turned around, he was back in human face, and Andrew was getting up on his feet, massaging his neck.

"Wow…" he said. "Nice grip!" Andrew laughed nervously. "So… you're… er… alive?"

"Where. Is. She?" Angel asked in a low voice.

"Well, she's with the Immortal I guess! They had a date tonight… you know, restaurant, dancing… I doubt she'll come home anytime soon" he said very fast.

"Is she?" Angel replied, coming closer. "Well, you see, I saw something very funny, a few minutes ago. Really, it's interesting. You want to know?"

Andrew was shaking from head to toe, throwing panicked glances around the room. Angel watched as the boy's eyes settled on a bottle of holy water. With a move too fast for the human eye to see, he grabbed the bottle and smashed it on the floor with his foot.

"Tsk tsk tsk… wouldn't try if I were you… So, where was I? Oh yes, I saw something very interesting. I came across Buffy… I wanted to talk to her you know, catch up around a cup of coffee, or something… Imagine my surprise when I realized that it wasn't her…" Angel said quietly.

Andrew's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, you mean you saw Sarah? She's great isn't she?" he let out another nervous laugh. "It was totally Buffy's idea, you know? What with the demons following her and all… I'd talked to her about those very cool X-men episodes and…"

"Cut the crap, Andrew." The boy was cornered now. "I want to know where she is."

"Well, I can't tell you… What if you're evil?"

"Well, if I'm evil, believe me, you'd better tell me now" he said, the slightest hint of threat in his voice.

"She's… er… she's… in England! With Giles! They're... er... on this big, apocalypse-y thing."

"Oh, are they? Great! Or… it would be great if you weren't lying…" He grabbed Andrews' shoulders and lifted him off the floor. "I'm gonna ask one last time, and you're gonna give me an answer, because if you don't…"

"Fine, fine!!" Andrew said, his voice panicked. Angel released him, and sat on the couch.

"I'm waiting" he said, crossing his arms.

Andrew let out a sigh. "I can't tell you where she is."

Angel glared at him. "I thought you had understood…"

"I can't tell you because I have no idea. Nobody knows." Andrew, fully awake now, sat down on a chair not far from the door. He had Angel's full attention.

"What do you mean, nobody knows? Was she kidnapped?" he asked with a frown.

"No… or, we don't think so."

"We?"

"Giles, the Scoobs, me… we don't know. She disappeared six months ago after coming back from that mission in… what was the name of that dimension?" he wondered aloud.

"Wait a second… Six months ago?" Angel asked, his anger coming full force. "You mean that the last time I was here, she was already missing, and you didn't tell me?" he almost shouted.

Andrew shot him a look. "You were CEO of the L.A branch of the most evil law firm on this planet. And I was supposed to tell you that our strongest slayer was missing?"

"I was NOT evil. I can't believe you lied to us. Maybe we could have helped, we had resources…"

"And we have an entire Coven of powerful witches. But we didn't find her… She probably doesn't want to be found, anyway."

"What happened?"

Andrew started to fidget, obviously ill-at-ease. "Erm… that's quite a long story, actually."

"Make it short."

The boy sighed again. "I don't exactly know what happened there. She was with Faith, Xander, and a group of slayers… I just know that something horrible happened, and when she came back… she just stayed a few weeks, and one morning, Dawn called, saying that she wasn't in her room, and that her clothes were gone. She'd just left a note asking us not to look for her."

Angel didn't answer. He was staring at the wall in front of him, an irrational sense of dread invading his head… He would never have thought… What had happened? Dozens of scenarios came to his mind, each one more horrible than the other… He finally looked at Andrew, and managed to utter a question.

"Why Sarah?"

Andrew averted his eyes, obviously wondering if he should tell the vampire the truth…

"Andrew, if I was evil, you'd be dead. I need to find her, because she's in danger. So, tell me now, why Sarah?"

"We… we had to hide the fact that Buffy was gone. The confusion there was, you can't imagine… We'd lost our leader, she was like our Luke Skywalker, training the other Jedis to fight for the bright side… Well of course, that's in the Extended Universe, doesn't happen in the movies but…"

"Andrew…"

"Sorry…" He cleared his throat. "If…if the demons were to know that she'd disappeared, it would be chaos. So, with Willow's help, we sent decoys all over the world. Four of them, we thought it would be safer if there wasn't just one. Willow manipulated their auras, in case a demon came too close… I was assigned here, to help Sarah settle in, and train. There's another one in Africa, and another somewhere in Asia… I don't know where the fourth is. She's underground."

Angel took a moment to ponder those new informations. The whole story, everything he thought he knew… this was all a lie. Something suddenly occurred to him…

"The Immortal?" he asked.

Andrew blushed, still fidgeting on his seat. "Never met him" he said, a sheepish look on his face. "That was… part of the cover. I heard that he was aware of the story we were telling, except he thought the girl was really Buffy, and he said he found it hilarious. I don't know why, honestly…"

Angel snorted. "Well, I know why…" he said, shaking his head.

Andrew shot him a curious look, but before he could ask any question, Angel dismissed the thought. "Never mind" he said.

There was a short silence, before Angel finally got up from the couch, and headed for the door. "I'm gonna find her" he declared.

Andrew, obviously relieved to see the vampire leaving, stood up, and followed him. "Sure" he said, only a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Where did she leave, before she disappeared?"

"Southampton, in England." Andrew replied. There was no point in hiding this from Angel after all. Besides, Dawn had moved in London with Giles after Buffy left.

Without another word, Angel walked out of the apartment. But before he disappeared out of the corner of the hallway, Andrew called him.

"Angel?"

"What?"

"How is Spike?" Andrew asked.

Angel sighed. He would never understand that guy.

"I don't know. He left after the battle… said he needed to sort things out."

Andrew smiled, a dreamy look on his face, and sighed. "Of course… the Dark Hero on his sacred Quest for truth and justice… But he'll be back…"

Angel looked at him for a second, hesitating between disgust and disbelief. He almost pitied Spike. Almost.

He finally left, not bothering to give Andrew an answer. He could easily make it to the airport in time; he would take the first plane for England.

He needed to start where everything had begun.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Angel was waiting in the hall of the airport, sitting with his elbows on his knees. It was just past midnight, but he'd managed to buy a ticket on a plane that left very early in the morning. That way, he wouldn't have to spend the two hours of the flight in the baggage hold… It would still be dark when they would land in Heathrow.

He was staring at the entrance of the airport, his eyes locked on the double door… but he didn't really see it. He was lost in his own thoughts. He still couldn't believe what he'd learned the past three hours. Everything he'd thought after coming back from Italy the last time, about Buffy, about moving on… It was all based on a lie. How come he hadn't notice that it wasn't her? Once upon a time, he would have been able to feel her anywhere, without even seeing her. Had they grown so far apart, that he hadn't even noticed that the girl he'd seen that night in the club wasn't her? Sure, there was a spell involved, but it didn't really matter.

The thought that maybe they would never be close anymore, that maybe he'd started to forget, was torturing him. He didn't know what he was feeling anymore… They'd barely talked for two years. What if all they were for each other now was just a memory? A burnt love that had just been a stepping stone to what they were really meant to be… What if all he felt now was just unfulfilled longing, and friendship? No, not friendship. They could never be friends, on that, Spike had been right. He'd thought, a long time ago, that she was the one. That he would never get over her, that he would never love anybody else, that she meant everything. But now, after all this time, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember how it felt to hold her in his arms. He couldn't remember the feeling of her lips on his, her hands, her warmth… Everything was just a blur in his mind. He didn't even know who she was anymore.

Maybe Andrew had been right. Maybe it was time to move on… and maybe all these years, he'd just held onto a lie.

He was so engrossed in his own brooding that he didn't notice the young woman sitting next to him. He hadn't even seen her entering the airport.

When she sighed loudly, he jumped slightly on his seat.

"Typical. You help a guy save the world, get his soul back and fight his own evil side after a stroll down Memory Lane in his mind, and the day he faces an Apocalypse, he doesn't even call" she said, a smile on her face.

Angel sat back on his chair, and gave her a small smile.

"Faith" he said. "How are you?"

"Oh you know, fighting demons, clubbing, chasing old friends before they leave the country… Same old, same old."

He chuckled, shaking his head.

"No really, I'm five by five!"

"I didn't know you were in Italy."

"Well, you're lucky, you know? I've only been here for a few days. Checking on the slayer here… I'm s'posed to leave for Paris tomorrow" she said, then laughed "Can you believe it? I'm living the great life, traveling everywhere… way better than jail, if you ask me… Well, except when I have to spend a week at the slayer school. 'That' is a nightmare" she added as an afterthought.

"Andrew called you?" he asked.

"What do you think? That I guessed that you would be here? Of course he did… and he's lucky he has, because if I'd discovered later that you were here and he didn't tell me, I would've been kinda pissed…" Faith said. "You know, it's a good thing we heard from Spike, 'cause if not for him we'd think you were dead."

"You heard from Spike?" he asked, stunned.

"Yeah… he ran into Vi, a slayer who was with us in Sunnydale, in Mexico. She's been talking 'bout it for days, I thought she'd never shut up…" she said, rolling her eyes "I was wondering when we'd hear from you… I was… kinda worried, you know?" she added after a pause.

"Sorry… I had a lot on my mind."

"And you didn't think we'd care."

He just stared at her.

"Hey, I'm not dumb you know? But you're lucky B's not here, 'cause she'd kick your ass for not calling before, or after, the apocalypse. Actually, I'm kinda tempted to do it myself, but, I do have some self-control… lately" she joked.

He sighed. "I'm not sure she'd actually care…"

Faith just looked at him for a few seconds, and then shook her head, lifting her eyebrows, and said something under her breath that he didn't get even with his enhanced hearing.

"You're here for her, aren't you?"

"Yeah… I was in Philadelphia, and I heard those demons, saying that there was some kind of bounty on her head…"

"That wouldn't be the first time, you know?" she said with a frown.

"They weren't joking Faith. The Order… they're pretty serious. I didn't even know they still existed. I thought the Order of Taraka had taken their place at one point… But apparently, they're still here. And you were next on their list."

That last statement chastised her a little. "Oh…" she just said.

"I have to find her, if not to help her, at least to warn. I would have just called, but since nobody knows where she is, that would have been hard…"

"If we couldn't find her, they probably won't" Faith said.

He looked at her in the eyes. "I wouldn't put my money on that."

There was a long silence, before Angel asked "Does Spike know that she's missing?"

"No… Vi didn't tell him. We're not supposed to tell anyone. Andrew told you, but since you had already guessed, it's not really a problem… As far as Spike's concerned, Buffy's living _'la dolce vita'_ with His Highness in Rome."

Angel chuckled. "His Highness?"

"Met him. Didn't like him" she simply said, a look of disgust on her face.

A loud feminine voice called for the passengers of the flight for London.

"My flight" Angel said, and he stood up.

Faith looked at him intently, before letting out a sigh and standing up next to him.

"Nope, that's not your flight" she said mysteriously.

He gave her a puzzled look. "That's not?"

She shook her head. "If you hurry up, they'll pay you back. But you're not leaving for England."

"Faith, I have to find Buffy…" he said, starting to walk away.

"And that's exactly why you're not leaving now."

He stopped dead in his tracks, looking at her in the eyes.

She sighed again, looking like she was doing something she knew she shouldn't do.

"I know where she is" she simply said.

ooooooooooooooooo


	3. Chapter 3

AN : This is a shorter one, but that's all I have now! Next chapter soon!!

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They were now walking side by side, on their way to Faith's rented car. They hadn't said a word since her little revelation; Angel had just gone to give his ticket back, and then they'd left the airport. It was Faith who finally broke the silence.

"A few months ago, that weird blue guy showed up at the Coven one morning" she started. "Said he was coming from another dimension, that things had gone bad there, and that he needed help. He didn't know where he was, he'd just followed the power radiating from the demon, and the root of that power was here. When the witches made their little spell to figure out where the problem came from, they discovered that it was Willow's spell."

Angel looked at her, but didn't speak, waiting for her to go on.

"B was in the area, with Xander, and I was at the school. Giles sent us with a few slayers."

She paused, took a deep breath, and continued her story. "The witches explained to us that the energy that Red had channeled to give their powers to the SIT had created a sort of… disturbance in another dimension. That it had released a demon, and created a gap in the balance, or God knows what… I kinda tuned them out somewhere during the explanation. But the point was, that it had had consequences we weren't aware of."

She stopped and sat on a bench, waiting for Angel to do the same.

"B was pretty upset. Thought it was her fault, since it was her idea… We all left for that guy's dimension. That was really weird… Their sky was pink, can you believe it?" She shuddered at the memory. "Anyway, when we arrived there… it was chaos, Angel. You could feel the darkness everywhere, the evil… it was unbearable. Kids were dying of some sort of disease, it was raining acid… All because of what we'd done."

She was staring into space, obviously lost in her own memories.

"We all decided to stay there until we'd kill the bastard we'd released. We hunted him down for weeks, killed the dozens of fucking lackeys that kept attacking us. And then, one day, we woke up, and all the young slayers were gone. There was blood on the floor in their rooms… and we hadn't heard anything. All seven of them were missing. We looked for them, it wasn't hard to follow their lead… We found three of them dead in the woods. The people of the dimension helped us out, and gave us weapons. Swords, guns, and explosives… And we left. On the hunt. Only B and I, we'd left Xander in the village, and believe me, that really pissed him off. It took us two days, but we finally found the demon. He was in a cave, ready to do some kind of mojo that would destroy the whole dimension we were in… It would just swallow it in Hell. We heard everything he said, and we'd been briefed before by the witches about what he was probably gonna do. B recognized the ritual…"

She paused, breathing deeply. "The four slayers we'd come with were in a cage, in the middle of the room. Apparently, they were gonna be sacrificed, to begin the ritual… it was too late to save them. After that… Well, to make a long story short, we decided not to try to save them. We didn't have the time, and there were too many demons. If we were captured, nobody would be able to stop it, it was a risk we couldn't take. Buffy just set the explosives, she turned the detonator on… we ran, and the cave blew up."

There was a long silence. "Did you kill the demon?" Angel asked.

She nodded. "We did. Everything went back to normal, the disease cured itself, and the rain became water again… It ended well for them."

"But you'd lost seven slayers."

"We lost three of them. We killed the other four" she said calmly.

Angel sighed deeply. Things were starting to make sense… Buffy had had to sacrifice people she knew again. She'd killed them, to save a dimension that wasn't even hers to protect. She hadn't had a choice, but it was still hard to accept.

"That's why she left, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah… that morning, when Dawn called Giles to tell him that she was gone, I'd spent the night out. When I came back to my room, I found a letter, and a cell phone. Why me, I'll never know…" she said.

"Probably because she knew you wouldn't judge" he replied in a quiet voice.

She just shrugged. "Maybe… Anyway, she told me in the letter that she was leaving, that she needed time… and every month or so since then, I get a text message. She tells me where she is, and that she's okay. I never told the others. She asked me to keep it to myself in the letter, unless there was a really, really important emergency."

He knew only too well what it felt like, to sacrifice people for the greater good. He'd done this himself, and had had a hard time coming to terms with this. He'd even left too, after all.

"And you?" he asked. "How did you…"

"I survived. It's a war. Casualties happen…" she said coldly. He knew there was more to it than she wanted to admit, but he didn't push. She would deal with it in her own way.

He just nodded. "If she asked you not to say anything, why are you telling me this?"

She gave him a small smile. "I guess you qualify as 'emergency'…" She paused a few seconds, then took a deep breath, and said cheerily "So, before I tell you the big secret, I want you to tell me what the fuck is happening with this 'Order' thingy…"

"They're old. And dangerous…" he replied after a pause. "From what I've heard, they were only bounty hunters in the beginning, sometime before the end of the Roman Empire, but it became some kind of cult over the centuries. Never met them, but they had quite the reputation in the second part of the eighteenth century. Then, after a while, they sort of disappeared. Others organizations of bounty hunters started to pop out here and there, the Order of Taraka came into the picture, took them all down, and ruled in the Order's place. We thought they'd been destroyed."

"And now they're after B and me…" she asked.

"Well, I think they have greater ambitions… no offence."

"None taken."

"They want to weaken the slayers, and they think if they kill Buffy, then you, then the Watchers, the confusion will give them a possibility to take kill them all."

She seemed to ponder the idea for a moment.

"Good plan. Except, huh, if they kill B now, no one will know. Hell, for all I know, maybe she's already dead!"

He looked at her with wide eyes.

"Or maybe not" she added hastily.

"Just because they can find her doesn't mean they know that she doesn't have any contact with the Council anymore. She really is in danger. So, yes, maybe if we just leave it at that, they'll kill her, and then won't be able to do anything more… but…"

"But we can't let her die" she finished.

"Well… yeah" he just said. "Don't you have a number where you could call her?"

"Nope, she always sends her messages with a different phone. I just know where she is, but I can't contact her. If needed, I can go to her, but I can't call to tell her to drag her ass back in Europe. Believe me, I would have tried already."

He sighed. "Well, I suppose I have to go then."

"We have to go, big guy. Emphasis on the 'we'. I don't let you go there alone. Besides, I'd really like to be the first one to kick Blondie's ass back on the path" she said. She stood up, and started to walk towards a dark green SUV. "Hurry up. I need to pack some stuff; we have to be quick if we want to be back here before sunrise."

She was already sitting behind the wheel when he stood up to follow her, knowing he didn't really have a choice. "You didn't even tell me where she is!" he shouted.

"I know! It's a surprise… But it's not very far!" she shouted back, "Now get your ass in the car, we don't have all night!"

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	4. Chapter 4

**Part three**

_Paris, September 11th, 2004_

Buffy woke up with a start, her body still shaking with the residual fear of her nightmare. She was covered in cold sweat, her face soaked with tears that kept running down her cheeks… She sat up, resting her elbows on her knees, and ran a hand through her tangled hair.

It was the third time that week she woke up like this; but she could never remember the dream. The details kept slipping through her fingers every time she tried to focus on the images, or the impressions… it all faded away and just left her with an insisting feeling of panic and urgency.

She knew it should worry her. Her dreams always had their importance… Especially that kind of dream. It could mean anything, from a simple demon attack to a world-sized apocalypse. If only she could remember it… She'd hoped she'd managed to leave that life behind her, all those months ago. But no matter what happened, Destiny always kept coming to bite her in the ass as soon as she thought she was finally free.

Oh, she hadn't given up on her duty. She still patrolled, killed a few vamps here and there… But she didn't do it because she had to, or because it was what people expected her to do. She did it because it was what she was… she needed the hunt. She'd stopped wondering why a long time ago; she just knew that sometimes she woke up in the middle of the night, itching for a fight, for the rush of adrenaline that always coursed through her body when she was near a demon… It was a part of her. But she did it for herself now, not for the sake of humanity… the fact that it could save innocent lives was just a very convenient side-effect. The world had dozens of slayers now to defend it, it didn't need her anymore.

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to sleep for the rest of the night, she disentangled herself from the rumpled sheets and headed for her small kitchen, never turning the lights on. She poured herself a glass of milk, and sat down next to the window, watching Paris slowly waking up in the early hours of the morning. She'd been in France for a month now, renting a little apartment in Montmartre, the Artists' district of the city. She liked living here, even if she knew that sooner or later she would have to leave… Paris was a beautiful city; a bit rainy for her taste, but there was something in the atmosphere, in the landscape, that seemed to come out of a dream. Parisians were not the nicest people in the world, and she doubted that she would ever understand them, but she liked life here anyway… and she'd even made some friends. Or, more like acquaintances… there were hundreds of students in Paris, from all over the world, and if the older citizens were grouchy, the younger ones were open and eager to meet foreigners. Especially if they were male and the foreigner in question happened to be a pretty blonde girl.

It had been six months since she'd left Southampton. She'd been to Spain at first, and had left after two weeks for Argentina, using the money she'd saved for the last year or so… She didn't know why Argentina, she didn't even speak Spanish, but she'd needed to leave. To go somewhere else, somewhere she'd never been to before… She'd stayed there for a month, working in a café in Buenos Aires, and then had left for Asia. Sri Lanka, India… She hadn't stopped moving for almost four months, and now she was back in Europe.

Without any clue as to what she was going to do with her life.

She didn't know what she was looking for. What she wanted, where she was going… she was alone, and lost. But she knew that after what she'd done, she wouldn't go back to her friends. Too much painful memories, too much past… She felt bad about Dawn, especially. But she'd convinced herself that her sister was better off without her. What good could she do her, anyway? Buffy would always keep an eye on her from afar, just in case, but she didn't want to be near her anymore… Because one day or another, what had happened on Na'ar'Goth would happen again, and it wouldn't be Slayers at stake but her sister's life. Or her friends' lives… And she never wanted to have to make such a choice ever again.

She was done with watching the people she loved die. Most importantly, she was done watching them die because of her.

She snapped out of her thoughts as the sun started to rise, bringing the city back to life and giving Montmartre its usual colors… She sighed, and headed for the shower. If she hurried, she could go for a walk before going to work. And she really needed to clear her head.

o o o o o o o

_Paris, September 11__th__, 2004, in a small hotel room near Roissy airport_

Angel was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. They had made it to Paris just before sunrise, and had managed to find a hotel near the airport where Angel could spend his day. Faith had already left for the city, leaving him behind… he would take a taxi as soon as the sun would set to join her.

He'd been surprised to hear that Buffy was in Paris. Faith had been toying with him all along, she was already going to go and find her sister Slayer before she even knew he was in Italy… She laughed when he pointed it out to her, and said that she really hadn't planned to tell him the truth until he told her about the Order. The reason why she was coming to see Buffy wasn't a life or death situation, she just wanted to see that she was okay before they both had to go their own way for a while. But Buffy had no idea she was coming; Faith didn't even know exactly where she was, just the general location.

That, more than anything, had surprised him. Things had changed, obviously… For as long as he could remember, the two Slayers hadn't been the greatest of friends. More along the lines of mortal enemies, actually. But now, Buffy trusted Faith enough to tell her where she was, and Faith was concerned with Buffy's well being. He didn't know what had happened, but it certainly must have been something important… knowing how stubborn those two could be, it was a miracle, in his opinion, that they hadn't tried to kill each other yet. Again.

There was a lot he didn't know about. Time had passed, and he'd been away for so long… He felt like he was intruding in the life of perfect strangers. But then again, he too, had changed. Life tended to do that to you. He had learned, fought, loved, and lost… lost a lot. And done things he wasn't proud of, things that still gave him nightmares, and weighed hard on his already heavy soul. Very often, he wished everything had stopped in that alley… but it hadn't. And one of the things he'd learned over the years was that things always happened for a reason. He was alive for a purpose, he had things to do.

But it didn't mean that he had to like it, or be thankful for it.

He was back at the beginning. Lost, wondering what was next for him, where he was going… What he had to do. But his 'destiny' would have to wait. He had to help some old friends before leaving and finding a path of his own.

He rolled over, trying to find some sleep. He had a long night ahead of him… he might as well rest as long as he could. Finding Buffy in a city the size of Paris wouldn't be easy; it was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Angel sighed, and finally closed his eyes. His last thought before falling into oblivion was the hope that he wouldn't dream… His dreams really weren't a pretty place these days.

o o o o o o o

The sun was already set when Buffy came out of the café where she worked. She shivered slightly as the evening's light breeze brushed her bare shoulders… She had forgotten to take a sweater, again. The night was jut starting, and as people started to go back home to their families, she decided not to take the subway. She'd rather take a walk and enjoy some time alone, away from the noise and the craziness of the city.

She made some detours, walking without thinking, and soon found herself in front of the _Seine_. The river was calm, as always, and she lost track of time in her observation of the fly boats… All those people, mostly tourists, enjoying holidays, laughing, and staring wide-eyed at the monuments around them… all blissfully unaware of the life she had to live, of the truth of the world. She envied them, but she liked watching them, it gave her the illusion of a normalcy she would never have.

She sat on a bench, still staring at the boats, lost in her own world of regrets and hopes.

o o o o o o o

"So… what are we doing now?"

"You're the one who brought me here. You decide."

"Yeah, well, you're the one who speaks French. I say you decide."

Angel and Faith were sitting at the counter of a bar, wondering how they were going to find Buffy in such a big city. Faith had never been in France, and had no idea what she was going to do… And Angel was just overwhelmed by all the changes Paris had been through.

Well, considering that the last time he'd been here, Baudelaire was still alive, he shouldn't be that surprised, he thought.

He had joined her right after sunset, ready to start looking for Buffy, but after thirty minutes they still hadn't a clue as to where to start.

"Maybe we should split… it'll be easier" she said.

"You sure? You just said that you don't speak the language…"

"Well, I was already planning on coming here before you showed up in Rome, so, I suppose I can handle myself. Besides, I'm a girl, and I'm sexy… It won't be that hard to find a little frenchie willing to give me a hand" she replied with a smug smile.

Some things decidedly never changed.

"Okay" Angel said with a sigh, "then you stay around here, where people are, in the crowded streets… Check the clubs, pubs, bars, everything you think she could be in."

"And you?"

"The empty streets… The river, the parks…" he said, already getting up.

"I forgot… Not a people person, are you?" She laughed.

He gave her a look. "Not particularly."

She got up after him, and as they walked through the door in the night's fresh air, she started to walk away. "We meet here at 1 am."

"Okay. See you later."

She just waved her hand at him, not looking back.

Angel sighed again, and started to walk in the opposite direction. He knew this was going to be fruitless. She could be absolutely anywhere, it would take them days to find her. But he walked anyway, waiting for that inner alarm that always warned him whenever a Slayer was near.

He rediscovered the city as he absently strolled down the side of the _Seine, _watching the few couples here and there flirting under the moonlight… he could hear Paris' noises from where he was, but they were muffled, as if respecting the tranquillity of the place. He had forgotten over the years the weirdness that was France. You could feel the history, the mystery, radiating in waves everywhere you looked… it was old, and somehow, oddly reassuring.

Maybe because it was older than him. Few things in America were older than him.

He'd been walking for almost half an hour when he felt that little tingle running down his spine, and his demon's warning instinct… It wasn't possible, he thought, he couldn't have already found her. He looked around, hiding behind a tree…

And here she was. Sitting on a bench, watching the river.

Angel felt like some heavy weight he hadn't been aware he was carrying was suddenly lifted from his shoulders. She was alive, and safe. He watched as she turned her blonde head to look at a boat that was passing by, and took a minute to let his relief wash over him…

He couldn't shake away the feeling that something was strange though. He had started looking for her only a few days before; he'd thought it would take him weeks, but it had been surprisingly quick. It was like there was some kind of cosmic conspiracy to help him find her. It had been too easy. He put that thought aside, and, still hidden in the shadows, took a closer look at the Slayer.

This time, it was really Buffy, he had no doubt. He still didn't understand how he hadn't noticed the first time that it wasn't her in Rome… maybe he'd been too stressed. He could feel it now, that little thing, that little feeling that he couldn't explain, and that always meant that Buffy was near. Her unique scent, and that particular sensation in the pit of his stomach…

He didn't know what to do, how to react, now that that he had found her. How was he going to explain the fact that Faith, who she had trusted to keep her secret, had led him to her? That he had come to protect her from some danger he'd just heard about in a pub? He didn't even know how to explain this to himself… He wasn't prepared for a conversation with her. They had so many issues, so many secrets, and so much past between them… What if it was too late to fix the old mistakes?

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realise immediately that he was walking towards her. He had only taken a few steps, still wondering what he was going to tell her, when he saw her straighten her shoulders…

"Planning on saying something anytime soon?" she asked loudly, not looking at him.

He shook his head. Of course she would know he was here… He finally crossed the distance that separated him from the bench and sat down next to her.

"How did you find me?" She wasn't angry, or annoyed… she just asked him, her tone neutral.

"I've been looking for you for the past three days or so… then I met Faith in Rome."

She snorted. "Faith… figures. I should have known better, really…"

"She didn't tell me at first. She didn't even tell me she knew where you were until I told her about what I heard…"

She finally turned her head to look at him. She had a hurt look in her eyes, and he held her gaze for a few seconds. "You're in danger" he finally said.

She shot him a disbelieving look before rolling her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. And you? What's new? It's good to see you too…" she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

He shifted uncomfortably, not knowing what to say. She just shook her head and looked at him, a resigned expression on her face. "Of course" she said, "What was I thinking… If Angel came to find me in my little hide-out, there has to be a good reason… Well, newsflash, Angel, I'm always in danger." She crossed her arms, and stared stubbornly at the river.

Angel let out a sigh. "Listen, Buffy, I didn't come here to fight. There's this order of demonic bounty hunters who are after you. They want to destroy the slayer line, starting with who they think is its leader: you. And they're not joking."

"Now there's something they've never tried before…" she replied in a sarcastic voice. "But thanks for the warning, anyway…"

"You should probably come back to England with Faith and I. It's serious…" he said, trying to look in her eyes.

She fidgeted nervously, avoiding his gaze. "I don't… I'm not sure I wanna go back there". She wasn't really ready to face her friends. Or her sister. Not yet anyway, and maybe not ever.

"It wasn't your fault, Buffy…" he told her softly, looking at the floor.

She jerked her head up. "How do you…" she started to ask, before the answer came to her. "Faith." she finally said. "Look, I don't really wanna talk about it okay?"

"Okay."

They were silent for a few minutes after that, each trying to look at the other out of the corner of their eyes. Buffy hadn't changed a bit, he thought. Not physically anyway. He knew he, on the other hand, probably looked like hell. He was tired, and the few weeks he had spent on the run were starting to seriously take their toll on him.

It was Buffy who finally broke the silence.

"What happened?" There was a beat, and he gave her a questioning look. "In L.A, I mean", she clarified. "I heard it was something pretty important, but only a few days later."

She looked up at him expectantly. He didn't know what to tell her… he wasn't sure he could find the words to explain what they had done. He finally took a deep breath, and decided to make it simple.

"We fought. We won. But we paid a price…"

He felt her tense beside him. "Wesley?" she asked.

He just shook his head.

She hesitated a few seconds, before asking in a choked voice "The others?"

He just looked at her, and she knew. He watched her as her eyes started to fill with tears… He briefly wondered why it affected her that way, until he realised that she could probably relate to what he was feeling. And she had known Wes too. And Cordy…

"God…" she whispered. She reached out for his hand, almost unconsciously, and squeezed it gently. Angel just stared at their entwined fingers, as if trying to figure out what exactly had just happened, all the while enjoying the contact of her warm skin… that simple gesture meant more to him than a hundred of words. And it started to make emotions he had thoughts were long gone come back to the surface…

All the things he'd wanted to tell her, all the resentment, all the fear that she would reject him, that they would fight, and all the confused feelings he had had so much trouble to identify suddenly disappeared, slowly replaced by a slight but unmistakable tug at his heart… Old memories coming back to the surface, of another time when things so much simpler…

He reached out a hand to touch her cheek…

"Buffy…"

His fingers were only inches away from her face when he saw her eyes widen. The next thing he knew, she'd shoved him on the floor, out of the trajectory of a battle axe that would certainly have beheaded him.

In a matter of seconds, they were both on their feet, back to back.

Demons were coming from everywhere around them. They were twelve, at least, all heavily armed.

"Why don't I believe it's a coincidence?" Buffy asked, her eyes never leaving their attackers.

"I don't know… they must have followed me…" Angel replied. How could he have been so stupid? It was a trap. He'd been tricked, again. "Why don't we find out?" he finally said.

And as the demons came closer, they both jumped forward and started to fight.

000000000


	5. Chapter 5

**Note:** It's been quite a while… But my muse apparently came back from wherever the hell she was! Now, I'm ready to go on with this one, and even if the updates won't be as frequent as the ones for WOAS (well, I mean as frequent as they were in July), I won't leave Broken Heroes at that. I read it, and realised I was just mean. Really, I am, you can say it… Leaving people hanging is a horrible thing. Even if I still have trouble wrapping my mind around the fact that some people actually are, interested in my stories…

Anyway, I hope you'll like that chapter!

o o o o o o o

And as the demons came closer, they both jumped forward and started to fight.

Everything happened really quickly. Even if they were taken by surprise, and despite the odds, Buffy and Angel soon got rid of a good half of their enemies. They fought in synch, as if years hadn't passed since the last time they had patrolled together, sending kicks and punches in a blur of deadly moves, beheading and staking their adversaries without even breaking a sweat. The demons were obviously inexperienced, and the two ex-lovers took advantage of that as much as they could, until only the stronger ones remained.

They stood side by side, facing the rest of their attackers with a threatening look on their faces. They had managed to take some weapons from the demons that had fallen, and were now carefully advancing towards them.

"Once we get rid of them" she whispered "we're gonna have to finish that discussion".

"Which part of the discussion?"

She just gave him a look, annoyance painted on her features. "The part where you fly halfway around the world to 'save' me from some crappy bounty hunters".

Angel barely managed to hide his disappointment. It looked like their moment of closeness was over… The memory of her warm hand in his colder one made her sudden mood swing even harder to understand. Why did she react that way? She was going straight back to business, as if the short moments they had spent mourning together just a few minutes earlier didn't mean a thing. But he quickly got a hold on himself. For her, it probably didn't mean a thing. And what did he care, anyway?

"They're not…" he started, then sighed "Look, I don't think it's the moment to talk about this, if you know what I mean" he hissed between clenched teeth, still staring at the demons around them.

"Maybe… but we're still gonna have to talk" she replied, before launching herself at the closest demon, and beheading it so fast that the creature didn't even see it coming.

They fought again for a few minutes, Angel dusting the two vampires that, for some reason, were fighting alongside the demons. They slaughtered each one of their enemies with a deadly efficiency, until only one remained. A really tall, and almost funny-looking one that Buffy was fighting violently, hitting repeatedly without even giving it a second to riposte.

At first, Angel took a second to watch her, mesmerized despite himself by the way her whole stance, her whole appearance changed when she fought. Was it because she let the Slayer in her come out and play during those short moments, or simply because she could finally do what she was born to do, he had never known. He wasn't sure she knew either… she was still as graceful as the last time he had seen her, only a year and a few months earlier. A year and a few months that sometimes felt like a whole life…

But the more he watched her, the more he realized that something wasn't right. There was something in her eyes he wasn't used to see there. Something lost, and pained… and something, if he didn't know better, he would compare to blood thirst. And even if they hadn't exactly been close for the last few years, he didn't need to be a genius to understand that her behaviour wasn't usual.

"Er… Buffy?" he called tentatively. But she didn't react. She kept on lashing out with her fists and feet at the demon, unaware of the fact that the creature was as good as dead, even if it was still standing.

"Buffy!" he called more forcefully "Buffy we need to question him!"

Still no reaction. He then started to walk towards her, and when he entered her field of vision, she finally noticed his presence. She stopped an instant to stare at him expectantly. "What?" she asked, her breathing heavy and uncontrolled.

But that split second was enough for the demon to go back into action. Apparently, it wasn't as beaten as Angel thought it was…

The tall yellowish creature grabbed Buffy around the waist, and lifted her high above its head, ready to throw her against the nearest tree, and screaming something in a sort of guttural language that, from what Angel remembered, could eventually be compared to Fyarl…

But the vampire didn't speak Fyarl. So much with the questioning, he thought, before raising his sword and sticking it into the demon's chest, praying that was where his heart, or whatever vital organ he had, was.

Buffy didn't see it coming, as she was preparing herself to an unfortunate and painful encounter with a tree, or possibly the hard concrete the ground was made of. She closed her eyes and tried to steel herself against the inevitable pain that would come, but instead of being violently thrown away as she expected, she felt the demon loosen its grip on her body and stumble a little.

She opened her eyes just in time to see Angel opening his arms, before falling right into them.

She held her breath as his strong arms encircled her, holding her tight against his body to break her fall. She reflexively locked her arms around his neck to steady herself…

And they both froze.

Angel stood completely still as her face was only inches away from his. She was breathing fast, probably a result of her fight against the demon, and he could hear her heart beat rapidly against his chest. Everything suddenly went silent around them as their gazes locked, as if the whole world had fallen asleep… or maybe it was just them, who were tuning the whole world out.

Old feelings, and forgotten thoughts came back to the surface all of a sudden, as they stared into each other's eyes, and both broken warriors lost themselves for a little while, not sure they should indulge in the comfort they could bring to each other… but desperately wanting to.

Him, who had tried to convince himself that she wasn't worth the trouble, and she who had managed to convince herself that she didn't need him in her life… and to stop needing him in her life.

But all those well thought and so logic little convictions didn't seem so important anymore, at that moment.

She swallowed harshly, trying to shut out the unwanted emotions his proximity induced in her… But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move to get out of his accidental embrace. Was it because she'd been alone for so long, or just because it was him, it was a mystery. But as her eyes travelled from his to his lips, the answer started to make its way into her heart…

The sound of a slight groan ringing up from the ground a few feet away from them made them both jump out of their daze, and suddenly broke the spell. In a matter of seconds, Buffy averted her eyes and wriggled her way out of Angel's arms without even giving him the time to release her.

One of the demons apparently wasn't as dead as they had thought.

Angel took a second to clear his mind after their short intense moment, and followed the Slayer as she quickly walked towards the origin of the noise.

A demon. A humanoid one, dressed as a normal man… But he didn't look like a man. Probably because of the long horns sticking out of his skull, and his bluish rough skin.

"Looks like we missed one…" Buffy said flippantly as she eyed the creature with a doubtful look, before shaking him to make him come back to full consciousness. "Good for us" she added quietly.

Angel just nodded, and watched as the demon started to come round. When he finally opened his eyes and spotted the two fighters in front of him, he let out a small gasp.

Buffy pursed her lips and gave him a falsely understanding look. "Thought you were gonna come out if this alive, huh?" she asked "No such luck, buddy… Unless you tell us exactly what we want to hear".

Her eyes sharpened all of a sudden, and she looked every bit like the mighty warrior she was.

The demon opened his mouth, but before he could utter a word, the slayer cut him off "Don't even think of trying the 'I don't speak English' routine".

"I…" the creature started "er…"

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "I…er… what?"

Angel chose this moment to step into the conversation. "You better tell us what we want to know… and then maybe we'll make it painless" he said, slipping into game face, and kneeled next to the demon's head "Starting with 'who's your boss'…"

The blue creature stared at him for a moment, before bursting out laughing. "As if I was gonna tell you, Angelus…"

Both warriors exchanged a glance. That was quite the change of behaviour… But they didn't really dwell on that fact.

"I see you feeling better" she said, before landing a strong punch on his laughing face. "Good. It wouldn't be half as funny if you were out of it" she said in a quiet, and somehow chilling, voice.

"Is it the Order? Who sent you here?" Angel asked, his patience coming to its limits "did you follow me here?"

"I'm sure you'd like to know…" the demon replied, his voice nervous but still cocky. Blood was pouring from a wound on his cheekbone, a result of Buffy's latest hit.

"Sorry" Angel said, tilting his head on the side "...wrong answer", and he twisted the demon's arm.

The creature cried out, but still smiled. "You think you know everything…" he told them, directing his words at them both "You think you know everything but you don't..."

Both ex-lovers frowned at those words, but Buffy quickly got over it. "Couldn't you be a 'bit' more specific?" she asked, tightening the grip she had on one side of his neck, where an angry bruise was already forming…

But before any of the warriors could react, or even understand what was happening, the demon slipped a hand behind his back, and, too fast for the eyes to see, got a knife from under him. Angel gasped and grabbed the Slayer's arm in panic, but it wasn't her the creature was aiming at. Before they could stop him, he raised the blade and slit his own throat.

The both jumped backwards to avoid being sprayed with dark green blood, and after a second of stunned silence, got up from the ground. Angel was the first one standing up, and he offered a hand to help Buffy, but she didn't grab it, stubbornly staring at a point a little on his left.

They remained silent, and after a minute of looking around, Buffy started to fidget. She swayed her arms on either side of her body, and turned her gaze towards Angel. "So?" she asked, and he looked at her, waiting for her next words… that never came.

"So what?" he said, frowning, wanting her to clarify.

She shrugged, apparently ill-at-ease, trying everything she could think of to avoid looking at his eyes… Anything to get her mind away from the recollection of being held in his arms. Seeing that he wasn't going to say anything more, she finally sighed. "This is awkward, isn't it?"

He let out a small, almost sad chuckle. She was right... and now really wasn't the time to start the whole drama that was their relationship. He decided to forget all the bad things that had happened between them for a while... They were together in this after all. "It is…"

She gave him a little smile, and took a deep breath. "So… think those guys were following you?" she asked, trying to sound cheerful, but failing miserably. Cheerful wasn't exactly a part of her vocabulary anymore.

"Well, I think it's a safe bet to say yes" he replied "I don't really believe in coincidences. Especially that kind of coincidence."

"Yeah… me neither".

Silence fell over them once more, and they started to walk away towards the nearest bridge to cross the _Seine_.

"We should go back to the pub I was in before coming here. I told Faith to meet me there at one am." Angel explained, not sure she would accept to come with him, but deciding to try and convince her if she refused.

But she didn't. She just nodded, and crossed her arms across her chest to try and keep herself warm. She really should have taken a sweater, she thought for umpteenth time that evening. "Okay" she simply said.

Angel noticed her move, and quickly understood its meaning. Without a word, he shrugged out of his jacket, and put it on his companion's shoulders.

She thought about protesting at first, but then decided against it. She smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks…" she said quietly, and then, remembering a part of their common past, gave him a mischievous smirk "I promise you'll get this one back."

He chuckled. "I hope so… it's the only one I have" he replied.

She chuckled too, a sound she had almost forgotten she could hear coming from her own mouth, and followed him into Paris' brightly lit streets.

o o o o o o o

"So… what do you think?"

The owner of the deep voice that had just talked took a step to get out of the shadows. His jet black skin made him almost invisible in the darkness of the Parisian night, on this side of the river.

The other man, who was as pale as the other was dark, was standing only a few feet behind him. He took a minute to watch the two warriors walking away from where they had just killed every single one of the demons he and his associate had sent after them. Well, almost all of them. Kurz had had to kill himself to avoid jeopardizing the whole plan.

"What I think?" he finally replied "I think this is gonna be interesting."

"Think it's her?" the black man asked again.

"Definitely".

TBC

o o o o o o o

I DID IT!!!

Lol

I hope you enjoyed it, and even if you didn't, I certainly enjoyed the Hell out of writing it…

Now if you could feed the muse… Thanks!!


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